ONLY ON PRO: WILL CONGRESS HOLD ‘EM OR FOLD ‘EM ON NET GAMBLING? – “The gambling lobby has a message for Congress as states line up to cash in on a White House ruling that in-state online lotteries and poker won’t violate a federal Internet betting ban: Deal now or get stuck with a bad hand. A Justice Department opinion issued before Christmas has created a now-or-never dynamic on the Hill for lawmakers and lobbyists pushing for a federal Internet poker law as state and regional officials move ahead with online gambling plans.” MORE: http://politico.pro/zrwiYS. And more gaming news below the jump.

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AND: GAMERS AT ODDS ON SOPA? — Michelle Quinn reports: “Video game-makers aren’t all heeding the call of duty to their trade association when it comes to backing congressional efforts to crack down on online piracy. The Entertainment Software Association, which represents 34 game manufacturers, is among supporters of the House Stop Online Piracy Act. But Electronic Arts, the giant software game company, told MSNBC.com it has not given its support to any proposal.” MORE from other top video game companies here, for Pros: http://politico.pro/xJqKp4

TODAY: COMMERCE TO UNVEIL COMPETES REPORT — Commerce Secretary John Bryson and others are set today to release the agency’s COMPETES Report, a look at U.S. competitiveness as mandated by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Expect the report to tout the importance of R&D funding to U.S. competitiveness and the economy. It will also make the case for prioritizing these programs, even in a constrained budget environment. Bryson will unveil the document at the Center for American Progress alongside acting U.S. Deputy Commerce Sec. Rebecca Blank, the Council of Economic Advisers's Carl Shapiro and CTO Aneesh Chopra. The event begins at 10 a.m.

Happy Friday, time for your Morning Tech — where we admit a somewhat religious devotion to your a.m. newsletter, but we’d hardly call it an actual religion. A group of file-sharers in Iceland, by contrast, actually see their exchange of music, movies and other docs as established faith. They’ve even received recognition for their Church of Kopimism from the state. More, via the AP: http://apne.ws/wNUASP

We’d love it if you religiously sent comments and tips to tromm@politico.com, or @ tonyromm. Find contact info for the crew below today’s Speed Read.

MT IS PACKING ITS BAGS. DESTINATION: CES — Heading out to Vegas next week for the 2012 International CES? Good, we are too. Your MT-er is live on the ground beginning Monday afternoon, and will have plenty of updates every morning here and throughout the day on Pro. (Don’t forget to say hello!)

LOBBYING BYTES: DIRECTV, OPEN INVENTION NETWORK HIRES – Fear of fees on satellite providers prompted DIRECTV to hire O’Hara Federal Strategies, according to a newly filed disclosure. That’ll bring the help of Elizabeth O’Hara, a former Gephardt staffer. Meanwhile, the Open Invention Network — an IP company that promotes Linux, backed by IBM, Novell and others — is boosting its lobbying heft. The group has snagged Quadpoint Strategies LLC as it seeks reform of the ITC procedures in patent dispute cases.

BSA AND SOPA CRITICS — The Business Software Alliance lost Kaspersky Lab as a member as of Jan. 1 over the Stop Online Piracy Act, even though BSA said previously that it had concerns about the bill (more here: http://bit.ly/rU9Zh5). Kaspersky, a Russian firm, quit the trade group anyway over what its founder said was the organization’s support of SOPA.

“The saddest thing is that this law is going to be introduced in the rest of the world due to the actions of associations such as the BSA, which blindly supported SOPA while ignoring any other point of view,” wrote Eugene Kaspersky in a blog post ( http://bit.ly/vXNT7P). Matt Reid, BSA’s spokesman, told MT, “it may be the first time in history that a company resigned its membership for being in agreement with its association.”

THIS WEEKEND: NBC/FACEBOOK DEBATE – Be sure to tune in at 9 a.m. on Sunday for the NBC News/Facebook Republican Presidential Debate on "Meet the Press," the last debate for GOP candidates ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. Before the candidates take to the stage, folks can submit questions. All the info you need is here: http://on.fb.me/AcvYsp

BAD NEWS FOR ONLINE GAMBLING BILLS – Online gambling expert Jeff Ifrah has a dire prediction for the future of federal Internet poker legislation. "It's dead," he told MT. The basis of his theory: The DOJ ruling has emboldened states, and Congress isn't going to be able to say "we need to step in."

"The original idea was there was a vacuum, regulation was needed on the federal or state level," said Ifrah, an attorney representing Full Tilt Poker in class-action litigation (he has filed a motion asking to be removed from the lawsuit). "Nevada has a scheme, so does D.C. And DOJ says they can go." His final prediction: "I think the states are going to dig in their heels on the regulatory and licensing schemes, and the folks pushing for the federal scheme are going to get pushed out of the market."

PRIVACY RIGHTS CENTER HAS DATA BROKER INDUSTRY IN ITS SIGHTS – A new service from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse that gives consumers a one-stop shop to file complaints about perceived privacy violations may be useful in getting a handle on issues involving online information brokers, said Amber Yoo, its director of communications.

The new online complaint center — check it out here, www.privacyrights.org/complaint — will provide a forum for people to complain online about privacy violations and decide whether they want to share their situation with government agencies, lawyers and journalists. The new service may also connect people to social media to find others with similar concerns. “If one person complains, it may be a glitch. If we get 50, that may be a trend that needs to be addressed,” she said.

SPEED READ, by Brooks Boliek

IRAN TRIES TO UNWIND THE WEB: As the political establishment comes under increasing strains from economic turmoil and threats of more international sanctions, Tehran is starting a new crackdown on the Internet as it ramps up a countrywide intranet The Wall Street Journal reports. http://on.wsj.com/x8JuGZ

THE OTHER 1 PERCENT: Turns out the mobile Internet world isn’t so democratic after all as Arieso, a company in Newbury, England, that advises mobile operators in Europe, the United States and Africa, has found that 1 percent of mobile broadband consumers use more than half of the available bandwidth, according to The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/ztHsjY

THE WORM TURNS: PC WORLD reports that a worm is spreading through Facebook and possibly gaining access to financial information. Seculert claims that log-on credentials from over 45,000 accounts have been stolen so far, according to the report. http://bit.ly/xM6Bcl

THE BLUE OVAL GOES WEST: Ford Motor Co. plans to open a research lab near Stanford as it tries to see what new technologies and trends evolve out on the left coast, according to the AP. http://apne.ws/wU83AU

SPRINT MAY GET IN GALAXY’S ORBIT: CNET reports that a Sprint ad running on its CES pages features the Galaxy Nexus which is now only available through Verizon. http://cnet.co/xrGUj5

THE NOOK MAY FIND A NEW NOOK: Barnes and Noble may split off its Nook digital-book business as the company finds that developing, manufacturing and promoting e-readers and tablets is costly, according to The Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/x7JqHi

** A message from Software.org: the BSA Foundation: The software industry is creating new jobs in all 50 states, in everything from software development and web design to project management and even accounting. But that growth is happening fastest in some unexpected places. Which states are grabbing the biggest share? Where are software jobs growing fastest? How does your state compare? Learn how software is transforming your state at software.org/softwareimpact. **